Seattle Jewish Center Shooter Enters Insanity Plea

Naveed Haq, who entered a Seattle Jewish Center building and proceeded to shoot up the place, has entered an insanity plea.

A man accused of opening fire at a Seattle Jewish charity last summer, killing one woman and wounding five others as he allegedly ranted about Jewish people, will raise an insanity defense in his trial next January.

Naveed Haq changed his plea Wednesday to not guilty by reason of insanity for the 20 criminal charges he now faces, including the 11 new charges that King County prosecutors filed Wednesday morning.

Haq's attorneys, C. Wesley Richards and John Carpenter, said Haq has a long history of mental illness, hospitalizations and suicide attempts over the years. He has most consistently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features, which Richards called "a very debilitating type of mental disorder."

"Obviously, we believe it had a substantial impact on Mr. Haq's conduct," Richards said.

The attorneys also dispute that Haq committed a hate crime. Richards said Haq did not "as a result of religious hatred."

To be found insane, jurors must agree that Haq's mental illness made him either unable to perceive the nature of what he was doing or took away his ability to tell right from wrong.

Via Michelle Malkin.

Just because Haq entered an insanity plea doesn't make it so. There will be medical examinations and the prosecutor will look at intent and whether he could tell the difference between right and wrong.

Most importantly, they will look at what he said and did in the run up to the attack.